Pacific Outfitters of Arcata

So the youngest recently needed me to haul him down to the local Pacific Outfitters in Arcata, after he hit a rock and split a new rear tubeless tire on his bicycle. This store is located on the corner of G between 7^th & 8^th (behind Café Brio). Its easiest accessed coming up G street (one way) — the store will be on your left, with its parking lot on that corner.
This is a review of the bike shop/​staff (inside the building).
A Great bike shop and staff, these guys are friendly, knowledgeable, fast and fair. By far the best price in town on tire repairs, tubes, rubber, etc. I have taken four bikes here for various repairs and always received great service, that was timely, complete and fairly priced.
My teenage son pops tires fairly often on his bike and this past trip — we spent more time loading and unloading his bike off the rack on the car more than anything else. I have taken him to other shops in town for similar repairs and never gotten out of the shop for under $ 25+ and they always try and add-​on to you, always. Last time at another store (a competitor in town — closer to my home) my kid went in to ask about what turned out to be a simple adjustment and they wanted to charge him $ 165!
Not here, the young guy that did the work was very knowledgeable, friendly, kind and generally just a nice guy — we assess the situation and its agreed that a new tube insert is the most cost effective repair since the rubber was new. We go kill like 15 minutes running around and its done — now he even takes time with my son to help him better understand the workings of his ride — he adjusts his brake pads for him (a couple twists of a screwdriver) just because it was the right thing to do, and did not try and charge him for a «brake adjustment» — this type of trustworthy, personal service and helpfulness is why we will not go anywhere else in town.
So, the tire is changed — it’s less than a whole hour later since we started on this saturday morning mission — my son is wheeling his bike up to the register and hands the guy behind the counter the work invoice/​bill…
Rear tire change with new tube and labor… $ 10 bucks!
Hard to beat that — a Great Bike shop/​Staff!
135

Great out door store! Not as big as its arcata location and b lacking guns too! The Ugg boot selection is much bigger here! Staff is friendly and accomodating but the store just doesnt compete withbits other location!

Nice neat store, friendly staff… cool gear. They have a great shoe n boot selection, but at these prices I’m a clearance rack kinda girl! But thats my budget… they have lots of what youre lookin for… check out pics.

For some reason the staff there is extremely pretentious. They act like you should not even be asking them anything. The prices there are outrageously high and I can almost always find the same thing on ebay or amazon for 30% the cost. They talk a lot about shopping local, but truth is they are ripping the locals off and all their craigslist ads say they hire at minimum wage, just like big corporations. I won’t be going back.

I bought a Kayak 101, 6 hour one on one class for my dad as holiday present, and it was a HUGE hit. My dad had the best time ever.
Not only did Greg teach my dad how more efficiently fish off a kayak, he also showed him some choice fishing spots. Greg is a wonderful instructor, patient, and very knowledgeable.
If you are wondering if you are fit enough, my dad is 77 years old. If he can do it anyone can. Like Greg says, anyone can kayak. So go out and have fun.

I just went to an REI in the bay area a few weeks ago and came away with a whole new appreciation for our local outdoor sporting good stores. For my purposes I find a slightly better selection at Adventures Edge, however, Pacific Outfitters is great for awesome quality gear for people who actually go outside and adventure (unlike REI which it seems to me is for people who want to dress like they do).

You can expect high quality products at the outdoor store like you can at stores like REI. The 2-​star review I am writing comes from their customer service, which has sometimes been good, but too often been poor. The staff, whether intentionally or not, generally act rude and arrogant towards me. I dont know if others experience this but for some reason they scoff at me as if they are thinking «oh great, I have to waste my time pretending to care what this guy need help with» when they see me step through the door. They treat me as if I am an obvious shoplifter. Its offended me enough to the point where I will probably take most of my future business to Adventure’s Edge instead.

The last thing I was going to do while visiting Arcata was buy a bike! But there I was, picking out all the accessories for my brand new black and silver Cannondale. OMG– I absolutely love this bike. I know I will have many adventures, for many years to come. But I must say, the best part of buying the bike and the real reason I decided to buy it in the first place, is entirely do to David Conrad, also known as «the bike guy»! His customer service is unsurpassed. His patience in answering all my questions (I know very little about bikes) not to mention his extraordinary knowledge of bikes, was welcomed and appreciated. The likelihood of my buying a bike in Arcata (he knew I was from out of town visiting my son Dane, an environmental engineering student at HSU) was next to none, yet he made me feel so special and said he loved talking about bikes– to anybody! So, thank you, David! Do ask for him when you visit the Outdoor Store. By the way, when you buy a bike from the Outdoor Store, all accessories are 10% off. Tell ‘em «Beth sent ya.»

Awesome customer service and the only place in Humboldt to rent SUP boards, and they are cheap! Gotta love it!

We just happened to see this store on our way through Arcata and decided to check it out. Their prices seem to be on par with other places, including the chains like REI. The staff are very friendly and even pointed us in the direction of a nice local eatery.

One of Arcata’s best sporting goods shops.
Location: 4 stars
Selection: 3 stars, at-​times 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Service: 3 stars (at time the staff can be clingy)
Last impression: 4 stars